This is yet another game of brinksmanship being played among many sides. There are Howson, Burke, and Yzerman looking to acquire. There's Gillis and Chiarelli looking to ship out. There are variables like Harding and Vokoun and Montoya who could spoil everything. How badly do Gillis and Chiarelli want to make moves? Who's going to blink first? If they sit on their hands for too long, they run the risk of the three buyers all finding solutions, and then they're stuck with what they have and the resulting fallout....that's the salary, the cap hit, the roster logjam, and the controversy. One of those sellers will blink first, because they simply have no choice. It's no different than the sellers of UFAs at the deadline. They'll blink because they need to get something, and getting something is better than the status quo.

You're overstating the importance of moving a goalie to both franchises. Neither has to blink. They've both had pretty good success with their current situation, unlike those of Howsen, Burke and Yzerman.

All the things that CBJ fans have said about Nash wanting to move are also true of Luongo. He is a good teammate, he won't pout.

Schneider has more leverage but not a lot. He can sign an offer sheet. The Canucks will match. Then he's stuck for a year for sure. His only way out is to sign his qualifying offer and that means playing out this year with a 10% raise. Maybe he does that, I doubt it.

Gillis is setting himself up to increase the market by making both goalies available. Neither bridge is burnt. He'll find a significant offer or roll with both. It's a much more dangerous game for a team needing a goaltender then it is for the Canucks. The worst thing that can happen is Schneider leaves next season for nothing. That's not ideal, but not the end of the world. Our team is already good and already has some promising young pieces.